In a number of different industries, antennas are utilized to transmit and/or receive electromagnetic waves, such as those commonly referred to as radio waves. As is well known, an antenna is generally an arrangement of conductors designed to radiate electromagnetic waves, and/or due to the reciprocity property, focus a radiating electromagnetic wave. Although antennas may be utilized in a number of different contexts, antennas in one common context are utilized in communication systems to transmit and/or receive radio frequency signals. To transmit radio frequency signals in such instances, the radio frequency signals may be formed from alternating currents that drive the antenna to radiate electromagnetic waves representative of those currents. And to receive radio frequency signals, radiating electromagnetic waves focused by the antenna may induce alternating voltages/currents that may form radio frequency signals.
Different types of antennas in use today include, for example, dipole antennas, microstrip antennas, loop antennas and open-ended waveguide antennas. Also, for example, a number of different types of antennas can be arranged and configured to form additional types of antennas, one of which is the array antenna. In this regard, an array antenna is generally an antenna including a number of conductors arranged in a spaced apart relationship with one another, such as collinearly in one dimension to thereby form a linear array antenna, or collinearly and in parallel in two dimensions to thereby form a planar array. Further within the context of array antennas, the relative phases and amplitudes of the alternating currents driving the conductors may be varied to thereby shape and direct the electromagnetic waves radiated thereby. Antennas configured in this manner are commonly referred to as phased-array antennas. And although a number of antenna configurations have been designed, it is generally desirable to improve upon existing designs.